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Residents urge caution over Lewis Avenue development as committee approves zoning changes
Summary
Waukegan’s Community Development Committee unanimously approved four zoning measures related to properties at Beach Road and North Lewis Avenue, prompting residents at public comment to warn the council that the planned development could worsen traffic and not fit the nearby neighborhood.
The Waukegan Community Development Committee on March 2 approved a series of zoning measures affecting parcels at the southwest corner of Beach Road and North Lewis Avenue, while residents urged the council to weigh neighborhood impacts before greenlighting new businesses.
During the public-comment period, a Ward 6 resident who identified himself as Jessado said the proposed Seven Brewers project on the 1700 block of North Lewis Avenue would draw daily traffic and conflict with the adjacent walkable residential neighborhood. "The city of Waukegan is owned by residents," he said, urging the council to prioritize residents over quick approvals. Another commenter warned that approving businesses solely for revenue risks concentrating alcohol outlets and worsening congestion near school bus routes.
The committee then took up four related agenda items. It voted to amend zoning for two parcels (zoning calendar number 2823), approve a planned unit development for an age-restricted multi-unit dwelling (2824), reclassify 1620–1700 North Lewis Avenue from B2 to B3 (2825), and grant a variance to allow a 4-foot buffer yard instead of the required 10-foot buffer (2826). Each motion was called by Alderman Martinez, seconded by Alderman Donworth, and passed on unanimous roll-call votes in committee.
Committee members asked a few clarifying questions on the record, including a brief query from Alderman Hayes about a landscaping feature on the plan; staff displayed the plan and answered. The buffer-yard variance, which reduces the required setback from 10 feet to 4 feet, was the most concrete design change discussed.
The zoning measures were approved in committee; committee members did not specify final procedural steps in the meeting record. Residents who spoke asked officials to consider traffic circulation, the concentration of alcohol-serving businesses, and whether the proposed uses fit the neighborhood before further approvals.
The meeting record does not include any formal amendments to the measures; all actions passed by unanimous committee vote.
